Bitter For Sweet
by Ryker Strom
Summary: Sometimes, the formidable one is the one that requires the most protection.


_**A/N:** This one took a while but it is more plot-filled and in my opinion, better than the short PWPs. Please note that there is under age drinking as well as mentions of sex between an adult and a minor. **If you like this, please review and rec it**. Also, I'd be honored if you can follow me on Tumblr at "**rykerstrom . tumblr . com**", I would love to make more like-minded friends! I also post my SeBlaine drabbles and SeBlaine art on there. Thanks and enjoy_.

* * *

BITTER FOR SWEET

It was near the end of Blaine's sophomore year at Dalton that he found out that his parents were getting a divorce. It was a particularly memorable day for him because his parents sat him down and broke the news to him right after one of their very rare family dinners.

"We've decided long ago that it's better this way, honey." His mother said. "Your father and I just wanted to make sure that you're settling in well at your new school before we make this official."

"And Cooper? Does he know?" Thinking back, Blaine was still surprised at how calm he had managed to sound.

"Your brother's known for years." His father replied.

Blaine knew that he should be mature about this and accept the adults' decision in this matter. But he was fifteen, and even though he was a good kid, divorce wasn't something that he could just suck it up and let go.

His family was everything to him. The thought of never being able to spend the holidays together as a family again was depressing and unfathomable. Blaine tried everything. From pleading with his parents to stay together to throwing a fit, nothing seemed to work. His parents' minds were made up and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Blaine was pretty sure that the upcoming summer was going to be the worst he would ever have.

* * *

Even though Blaine's parents kept their children out of the divorce proceedings, everything still hurt. There seemed to be nothing that Blaine could do to numb the pain. He threw himself into summer activities, hung out with his Warbler friends, joined more sports at the local community center, volunteered at the shelter, and spent time in the library to finish his summer readings. Blaine did everything he could to exhaust himself but nothing seemed to be making things better.

Blaine hated his life.

"This seat taken?" Blaine would recognize that drawl everywhere.

Sebastian Smythe, transfer student from the last semester and fellow Warbler. Good-looking, great voice, excellent dancer, and from what Blaine had observed, quite an instigator when it came to choosing songs for practices.

"No." Blaine shuffled over and Sebastian sat down next to him. He tried to focus on his novel but he could Sebastian's eyes on him. "May I help you?" Blaine closed the book with a snap.

"Well, well. Somebody's been having a bad day." There was amusement dancing in those green eyes.

"What do you need, Sebastian?" Blaine sighed. He was in no mood to be civil at the moment. "Doing summer reading at the library? Need help finding a book?"

"You look like you need to relax." Sebastian raked his eyes over Blaine. "And I happen to know a place that would do the trick."

"If this is something that's going to get me into trouble, I'm not interested." The way Sebastian was looking at him was making Blaine feel self-conscious. It couldn't be blamed. After all, it wasn't everyday that an attractive guy would look at him _that_ way.

"Don't worry, they know me." Sebastian reached out and took Blaine's hand before scribbling something onto his palm, brushing his fingers lightly over Blaine's skin as he did so. "See ya."

It took a few moments for Blaine to realize that he was staring at Sebastian's retreating form. He glanced down at his palm and saw Sebastian's phone number written in neat handwriting.

Eventually, curiosity won out.

* * *

Scandals was an interesting place. It wasn't a club, it wasn't glamorous, but it was full of other gay people and Blaine could get in with a fake ID.

The idea of being able to do something illegal and daring without getting into trouble was both daunting and exciting at the same time. True to his words, everyone who worked there seemed to know Sebastian. The bartender didn't even question him when Sebastian ordered them each a shot of Vodka.

"Just don't say you go to Dalton," Sebastian murmured into Blaine's ear. The warmth breath and close proximity sent a shiver down Blaine's spine. "Here's to having a great night."

Sebastian downed the Vodka in one go. Blaine followed suit, and ended up coughing.

"I think you've just popped your cherry." Blaine could hear the laugh in Sebastian's voice.

"Wh-what?"

"You've never had Vodka before, have you?" There was now a full-blown smirk on Sebastian's face. "And is that a blush? You're shitting me. You're blushing!"

"No, no I'm not." Blaine ducked his head. "It's the alcohol."

"Right." Sebastian let out a low chuckle. "I'll have another shot. And maybe we should give this one a glass of water instead."

"No, I'll have what he's having." Blaine wasn't about to be one upped upon. Anything Sebastian did, he could do better.

"Are you sure about that? If this is a drinking competition, you're going to lose."

"I'm fine." Blaine shrugged. "It's still summer break and as you said, I need to relax."

"Whatever you say. But don't throw up on me later."

Blaine ended up having three shots and drank water the rest of the way. He was sure of it. When it came time for them to leave, Blaine knew he was a little tipsy. But he liked the sensation of feeling a little numb, where everything was going in a slightly slower motion. They had spent most of the night on the dance floor, dancing to their hearts' content and ignoring everyone around them. It felt good to let loose, to work out the frustration and pent up energy. But most of all, it felt good to have another body pressed up against his, grinding and sliding against each other.

And at some point during the night, Sebastian kissed him.

Blaine was glad he wasn't completely drunk, because he wouldn't have wanted to miss this for the world. Sure, the kiss wasn't exactly the same as the way it was described in novels and songs, but it was amazing in words that he couldn't quite describe. The way Sebastian's lips felt against his own, warm, soft, and a little chapped; the way it felt to have those lips pressed firmly against his, and when Sebastian slipped his tongue past Blaine's lips and tightened his arms around Blaine's waist, Blaine felt like he was on Cloud Nine.

* * *

Blaine woke up with an awful headache the next morning. His stomach felt queasy, his throat felt dry, and he felt like he was going to die. He opened his eyes and almost shut them right away. The sunlight was too bright, his body felt too heavy, and it was a bit hard to move when there was an arm slung across his waist.

_An arm?_ All traces of sleep were gone from Blaine's mind as he sat up quickly, wincing at the spinning imagery around him and the pang of headache that hit him. _Where am I?_

This was not his room. His room was not this spacious, and it was not this _beige_. Blaine looked to his side and found Sebastian stirring next to him. A sudden panic ran through him as Blaine tried to remember what happened after Sebastian kissed him.

"We didn't have sex, if that's what you're freaking out about." Sebastian mumbled, sleep still evident in his voice.

"I—" Blaine never got to finish his sentence. Waves of nausea hit him again and suddenly it felt as though his stomach had done a flip flop. He scrambled off the bed and ran into the adjacent bathroom before emptying his stomach content into the toilet.

The last time Blaine threw up, was probably years ago when he was struck with a particularly bad bout of flu. Somehow, the taste of half-digested food mixed with leftover alcohol and stomach acid only made everything felt ten times more horrible.

"Well, at least you have the sense to throw up into the toilet." A tall shadow fall across the doorway as Sebastian looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Told you you should've stuck with water."

"You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" Blaine grumbled. He wished there was some kind of magic pill to make the sickness go away. "How come you're okay?"

"It's all in the genes." Sebastian smirked. "When you're done throwing up, come downstairs. We got bagels. After that, we're going back to Scandals to pick up my car."

"We?"

"Oui oui! We both had a bit too much to drink last night." Sebastian gave Blaine a stern look. "Surely you don't expect me to drive us back while intoxicated?"

"No, of course not." Blaine tried to stand up but the room was spinning again. "Ow. My head."

"Can't say I feel sorry for you." Sebastian shrugged and turned to walk out of his bedroom. "Just hurry up. If my car got stolen, you're paying for it."

And that was how everything started.

* * *

Scandals became a regular thing.

Sebastian would come by and pick Blaine up at ten, and they would stay at the bar until three in the morning. They would drink, dance, and watch people. Once in a while they would exchange kisses while dancing, and made out in the car if Blaine was feeling adventurous.

It was fun, and it was stress free. Oh, Blaine knew he wasn't supposed to go to a bar and drink when he was underage, but he didn't care. This was the one time that he had rebelled, and rebelling felt awesome. His parents, now divorced, were too preoccupied with their new lives to really pay attention to Blaine, especially when he put up such a good front at appearing as though he had everything under control.

Going to Scandals and being around Sebastian was Blaine's way of letting loose. He had to let loose somewhere or else he would go mad, or so he told himself. But deep down, Blaine knew that it was no longer about being rebellious or doing something daring. He was doing it because he liked hanging around Sebastian.

It was near the end of July when they started to do other things besides going to Scandals.

"There's this improve group in town," Sebastian said to him one afternoon when they were lazing around in the backyard. "Two nights only, want to come?"

"Okay, sure. That sounds fun."

It was refreshing, to do something different from what other teenagers would do. Most people Blaine's age would probably spend their free time at the mall or at the movies; whereas going to an improv just sounded artsy and unique. Blaine liked it.

After the improv, they started doing other activities together. It would change from time to time. Sometimes they would go to Farmer's Market on Saturday morning, other times they would go to the local museum to look at the latest exhibit, there was even one time when they went to see the "Phantom of The Opera" when it was in town.

"Christine should've ended up with the Phantom." Blaine commented as they were driving back.

"And why's that?"

"I don't know. The Phantom's known her longer. He helped her through so much. Raoul just kind of showed up." Blaine shrugged. "I'm sure he loved her, but I can't help but feel bad for the Phantom."

"The Phantom hurt a lot of people." Sebastian casted Blaine a curious look.

"I know. I'm not condoning it." Blaine pushed back against his seat. He knew this was one of those discussions that would leave him frustrated. Blaine couldn't help it, he always had a soft spot for misunderstood villains. "It's just really sad that after all that he had to endure, he still ended up alone. In the end, when he let her go, I think that was the greatest love of all."

"So you sympathize with the villain." Sebastian commented lightly as he made a turn at the lights.

"There's no such thing as a real villain." Blaine sighed. "Everyone has an untold story."

"So you believe in giving everyone a chance?"

"Yeah."

It was true. No matter how angry Blaine was at his parents for the divorce, he had come to accept the fact that things weren't as simple as just plain right or wrong. It was strange how his perception of the divorce had changed in the past month. When Sebastian didn't respond, Blaine looked up in curiosity.

There was a small content smile on the other boy's lips.

* * *

By mid-August, Scandals had gone from a weekly thing to a rare occurrence. It just seemed more enjoyable to do other things together like attending local fairs, hanging out in each other's house, or even just baking cookies together for a charity event. Blaine didn't know how to call his relationship with Sebastian. He would like to think they were boyfriends, since it didn't look like Sebastian was seeing anyone else; but Blaine also found Sebastian's behavior puzzling at times.

"Hey, quit that!" Blaine tried to stifle a laugh when Sebastian nibbled at a particularly sensitive spot on his neck.

"Quit what?" Sebastian traced his tongue up the column of Blaine's throat. "This?" Sebastian planted a small kiss on Blaine's nose. "This?" He kissed Blaine on the forehead. "Or do you mean this?" And pressed his lips against Blaine's.

What started as a light kiss turned into a mix of tongues and teeth, Blaine tilted his head to get a better angle and tried to pull Sebastian closer. He liked the feeling of having Sebastian's weight on him, just as he liked the way Sebastian's hand was trailing up his side. Blaine let his other hand wander downward and slip under the hem of Sebastian's shirt, feeling the hot skin underneath. Sebastian kissed him harder in response. Feeling encouraged by Sebastian's reaction, Blaine dipped his hand under the waist band of Sebastian's pants.

Blaine could feel Sebastian tensing up right away. One of Sebastian's hands reached down and grabbed Blaine by the wrist and suddenly, the weight above him was gone.

"Sebastian?"

"We should—we should cool down." Sebastian's breathing as heavy and labored, his erection noticeable against the pants that he was wearing. It was clear that Blaine wasn't the only one feeling aroused.

"I—" Blaine really wouldn't mind if they go a little further. How much further, he wasn't sure, but at this point he really wouldn't mind going past kissing and maybe do a bit more touching. However, the look on Sebastian's face bid no further argument. "Oh, yeah, okay."

"Want to try out that new ice-cream place?"

"Sure." Blaine tried not to let his disappointment show. This wasn't the first time that Sebastian interrupted their makeout session when things got a little too heavy. It just seemed strange that Sebastian would want to stop, especially when he had been the one to initiate most of the time. Nonetheless, Blaine didn't want to push. He was happy with Sebastian, why fix what wasn't broken?

It was the last weekend of their summer break when Blaine suggested that they go to Scandals one last time.

"After school starts, I don't think I want to be staying out that late anymore," Blaine admitted. Being rebellious just sounded silly at this point. "For old time's sake."

"Yeah, sure." Sebastian was nonchalant about it. "Whatever."

"Are you going to keep coming here even after school starts?" Blaine couldn't imagine how Sebastian would be able to keep up with Dalton's rigorous curriculum if he didn't get enough sleep.

"I don't know. We'll see."

Somehow, the use of "we" as opposed to "I" sent a flutter to Blaine's stomach.

It was a lively night at Scandals. Blaine wasn't sure if there were some special occasions or celebration that he didn't know about, but there were definitely more people at the bar and dance floor than all his previous visits. Blaine was sitting bar counter when someone approached him.

"Well, hello, beautiful!" Blaine turned around and found himself face to face with a tall man in what he surmised to be in his late-thirties. In spite of being much older, Blaine could tell that the man took good care of himself from fit figure to the put-together appearance. "I never thought they would have good selection at a dingy bar like this one."

"Uh—" Blaine looked around him. Sebastian had to go outside to take a call but why wasn't he back yet? It was strange, after having come to Scandal for over a month, this was the first time that someone had tried to strike up a conversation with Blaine.

"Donatello." The man extended his hand. "Or you can call me Don."

"Blaine."

"Whiskey, for both of us." Don motioned to the bartender. "So tell me, are you new in town? Now I know why the lights aren't working in this bar, because you've stolen them all."

"Wh—what?" While it was nice to be hit on, Don was a little strange.

"All the lights are in your eyes." Don sat closer and slipped his arm around Blaine's waist. "You have beautiful eyes."

"Uh, thanks. Don, I think I—"

"Chill, babe. I have fine tastes in everything. I'll treat you right."

"Like how you treated your wife and your son? Or all the dozens of unsuspecting guys you've tricked?" Sebastian's voice rang out from behind them.

"Seb—Sebastian! Fancy meeting you here!" Don moved away from Blaine almost immediately.

"I'm going to get the bouncer to kick you out if you don't stop harassing people." There was a coldness in Sebastian's voice. "You shouldn't even be here."

"Neither should you. How old are you again? Maybe you can refresh my memory." There was a smile on Don's face.

Sebastian stiffened visibly.

"Relax, how am I supposed to know you've moved here?" Don looked back and forth between Blaine and Sebastian. "What's he to you?"

"Blaine, we're leaving." Sebastian grabbed Blaine by the hand and led him out of the bar.

"Wait, what? What's going on?" As thankful as he was for the intervention, Sebastian definitely wasn't acting like himself.

"We're heading back." Sebastian clenched his jaw tightly. Blaine had never seen Sebastian this irritated before.

Somehow, Blaine couldn't help but feel concerned for him.

The drive was silent but tense. Blaine wanted to ask if Sebastian was all right but the look on the other boy's face told him questions should wait. Blaine hurried after Sebastian when the other boy unlocked the front door and threw it open with a bang.

"Sebastian! Wait up! Are you okay? Talk to me." Suddenly, Blaine found himself being shoved up against the wall, and then Sebastian's lips were devouring his.

It was different from their make out sessions. This was heated, urgent, and rough. It was as though Sebastian was trying to consume him alive. There was a possessiveness and hunger behind it that Blaine had never felt before. The kiss made Blaine feel giddy and dizzy, he felt fingers dipping under his shirt and caressing the skin underneath.

"I really, _really_ like you." Sebastian's voice was thick and leaden with emotions when he uttered those words. They were spoken so quietly and quickly that Blaine almost missed them. "I just—I really do."

"Me too." Those words tumbled out before Blaine even had time to process them. It just came so naturally that Blaine didn't even feel surprised for saying them.

Things escalated quickly from there. They stumbled their way into Sebastian's room, shedding their clothes as they continued kissing. The weight of Sebastian on top of him was familiar and comforting. Blaine could feel Sebastian's erection hard against his thigh. Blaine turned his head to the side when Sebastian sucked at a particularly sensitive spot on his neck before kissing a path down his chest, touching Blaine everywhere that Sebastian could reach. By the time he heard Sebastian ripping open the condom wrapper, Blaine was already a writhing mess of wants and needs.

If Blaine had to use one word to describe sex with Sebastian, intense would be the most apt description. When Sebastian pushed in, Blaine felt like all of his nerve endings were on fire. He could feel every stroke, every stretch, and every drag as Sebastian pulled out slightly and pushed back inside. Blaine had always found Sebastian to be attractive, but he had never looked more gorgeous than he did then, with his hair damp and tousled, sweat beading on his forehead and his face slightly flushed.

"Oh my God! There, yes, there." Blaine knew he would probably feel embarrassed about being so vocal later, but at the moment he just wanted more of what Sebastian could give him. "Right there. More, Sebastian, more!"

"Like this?" Sebastian did something with his hips and brushed against a spot inside. Suddenly, Blaine was seeing stars. "Tell me what you like."

"Like that, just like that. Oh God!" Blaine pulled Sebastian closer so that they were almost chest to chest, their bodies sliding against each other. He didn't care if they were both sweaty and hot, what they were doing at the moment was the best thing in the world. Blaine locked his legs around Sebastian's waist and shifted his hips, hoping Sebastian would hit that spot again.

And Sebastian did, many times more, until Blaine's climax overwhelmed him and sent him over the edge. A few moments later, as they had both caught their breaths after the throes of their orgasm and Blaine slowly drifted off, he felt Sebastian laying down beside him and pulling him into a close embrace.

Before sleep claimed him, Blaine had a fleeting thought. This had been the best summer ever, and he was pretty sure that junior year at Dalton was going to be awesome.

* * *

It didn't take too much convincing to get Sebastian's and Blaine's roommates to agree to switch rooms. Being each other's roommate was almost like living together. When Blaine brought that up to Sebastian, the latter would roll his eyes at the cheesiness of it, but Blaine knew Sebastian secretly liked the arrangement.

Because Sebastian's smile was always genuine around him.

Even the Warblers seemed to have noticed a change. Sebastian still challenged them on their song choices, but it was no longer the type of gibes and remarks that ended up in uproars and outright arguments.

"Blaine, whatever it is that you are doing to Sebastian, keep it up." Nick gave Blaine a thumbs-up sign. "We definitely like the new him."

Blaine wondered if the blush on his face was showing, because his face felt like it was on fire.

"What are those losers talking about?" Sebastian fell into steps with Blaine.

"They're not losers, Sebastian. They're my friends." Blaine bumped against Sebastian's shoulder playfully. "You need to be nicer to them."

"Oh, but I have been nice." Sebastian quirked up one eyebrow. "What are you implying, my kind sir?"

"I—"

"Sebastian Smythe!" Blaine heard an angry voice behind them. He didn't even have a chance to register whom the voice belonged to because the next thing he knew, his boyfriend was on the floor.

Someone had punched Sebastian.

"What the hell?" Sebastian looked more shocked than anything as his hand reached up and rubbed at his jaw.

"What did you hit him for?" Blaine hurried to Sebastian's side. He could feel anger boiling up inside him. Blaine hated bullies and Dalton was the last place he expected to have this kind of violence.

"Why don't you ask him?" The angry voice belonged to another boy whom Blaine recognized as one of the seniors. He remembered seeing the boy on the debate team but couldn't remember his name, even though there was something strangely familiar about him.

"Gabriel, enough." Sebastian sounded resigned, but that wasn't what worried Blaine. The Sebastian that Blaine knew would've come back with some kind of cutting remark.

"What the fuck are you doing in this school?" Gabriel had his fists clenched. "Haven't you done enough?"

"I've no idea you go here." Sebastian picked himself back from the floor. "Now if you'd excuse me, I've got classes to get to."

"Your boyfriend—I'm assuming that's what he is to you, isn't it?" Gabriel narrowed his eyes at Blaine; they were full of hatred and anger. "He's a fucking homewrecker. If it wasn't for him my parents would've still been together."

There was a sharp intake of breath. It took a few moments for Blaine to realize that the gasp was his own.

"Sebastian's a fucking whore. He probably spreads his legs for everyone and fucks—"

Sebastian lunged at Gabriel and knocked the other boy over. The two started throwing punches at each other, kicking, hitting, and cursing.

"Stop! Dammit!" Blaine tried to pull Gabriel off Sebastian and yelped when he was elbowed in the stomach. "Somebody get the teachers!"

In the end, it took several faculty members to separate the two.

* * *

The school suspended both Sebastian and Gabriel, since punches were thrown from both sides. Sebastian was suspended for two days, while Gabriel was suspended for the entire week. In spite of it only being two days, Sebastian's absence was driving Blaine mad. Sebastian wouldn't return his calls, his text, or his emails. For the first time in Blaine's life, he realized just how much he missed Sebastian when he wasn't around.

Finally, Blaine decided that there was nothing he could do except to wait for Sebastian's return.

It was Thursday night when he saw Sebastian back in their room. The other boy was seated on the edge of his bed, shoulder slumping a bit as he leaned forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

"Hey." Blaine was the first to speak up.

"Hey." Sebastian sat up right away. It was apparent that he was in such deep thoughts that he didn't even hear Blaine coming in. "Sit."

"Here?" Blaine pointed at the bed.

"No, sit outside the room." Sebastian let out a laugh. "Yes, here. Next to me."

The laugh seemed to have broken the awkwardness in the room. Blaine wasn't even sure why there was awkwardness to begin with. There was never such tension between them before.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Blaine said quietly. As much as he would like to find out what happened, Blaine knew that this was something that Sebastian could only do on his own terms. "I just need to know if you're okay."

"Actually, I need to." Sebastian still wasn't looking at Blaine. "I'd rather you hear it from me."

"I don't care what other people say." Blaine didn't want Sebastian to tell him anything out of obligations. Even though he wanted to know what happened between Sebastian and Gabriel, something like this should be done on Sebastian's own terms. "You know that."

"Don's Gabriel's Dad." Sebastian said it so matter-of-factly that he sounded like he could be talking about the weather.

"Don what? Wait, the Don at—"

"The one that tried to hit on you at Scandals."

"The—Oh, God!" Blaine's eyes widened in realization. "You and him—I mean you. Oh."

"Yeah, oh indeed." Sebastian let out a bitter laugh. "So now you know. I'm a homewrecker."

"You're not." Blaine's hand reached out to Sebastian's and gave him a gentle squeeze. He could feel fury bubbling inside of him at the admission, but it wasn't directed at Sebastian. How could a grown man like Don take advantage of a teenager, his teenage boyfriend, in this way? This was wrong. It was horribly wrong.

"My parents got divorced two years ago. Don was one of my teachers at my school in Paris." Sebastian continued. "He was there when no one else was. Don would pay extra attention to me, get me an fake ID so we could go out and do stuff. We kept it up until his wife found out. They got divorced; my parents settled everything out of court with him and sent me back to America."

"Your parents didn't press charges against him? That's—that's—"

"I was underage, nobody wanted a family scandal. Well, no big deal, I consented." Sebastian shrugged stiffly. "I should've found someone my age rather than going for a teacher. Hell, I never thought his son and wife would move here of all places."

"But—"

"Let me finish, I'm almost done." Sebastian interrupted. "I just want to say that I understand if you want to breakup with me after this, especially now that I'm going back to see the shrink again."

Blaine could feel his chest clenching painfully at those words. His heart ached for Sebastian. Never in his lifetime had Blaine expected to hear what he had just heard from Sebastian, the boy who always looked so confident and formidable. The Sebastian he saw now was raw and vulnerable, even as he tried to look calm and collected when he told Blaine about his past.

Blaine couldn't understand how anyone could look at this as though it was no big deal. He felt a fierce rage at the wrong that had been done to Sebastian. From Don who had taken advantage of a teenager's vulnerable state to Sebastian's parents who obviously didn't care enough to press charges and spend more time with their son.

"I'm not breaking up with you." Blaine couldn't fathom why Sebastian would think this way. It saddened him to know that Sebastian had been carrying the burden by himself this whole time.

"I'm not telling you this so you can feel sorry for me." Sebastian's jaws were clenched tight, his neck muscle tense from the effort to stay composed.

"And I'm not doing this because I feel sorry for you." Blaine tried to wrap his arms around Sebastian and pulled him close, hoping that Sebastian would receive what Blaine perceived to be a comforting gesture. "I'm doing this because I like you a lot and I can't bear the thought of anyone ever hurting you again."

"This is the most ironic thing in the world." Sebastian let out a small laugh. Blaine looked at his boyfriend quizzically; he really hoped that Sebastian knew he was sincere about what he said. "Do you know why I approached you at the library?"

"No." Blaine wondered why this was being bringing this up now.

"I saw myself in you. That was me, when my parents first divorced." Sebastian's eyes softened at the memory. "I couldn't let the same thing happen to you."

Everything started to fall into place. The trips to Scandals, where they would drink together, dance together, hung out together, but Sebastian would never interact with anyone else, just as he wouldn't let any strangers approach Blaine; the subtle way in which Sebastian would to steer them away from going to the bars and instead proposed that they engaged in other activities instead, activities that turned out to be less risky; all of which were Sebastian's way of guarding Blaine.

_Sebastian was watching out for me._ The realization warmed Blaine to the core, and it only made Blaine wanted to protect Sebastian even more.

"I was kind of hoping that you'd never find out." Sebastian had a wistful smile on his face. "Guess the past always has a way of catching up with me."

"Forget about the past, I really don't care." Blaine pressed a kiss to Sebastian's forehead and held him close. "It doesn't change who you are and I definitely still want you. I just want you to be open with me from now on."

Sebastian turned his head away briefly as one of his hands went up to brush something out of his eyes and let out a shuddered breath. "Damn hair, they never stay in place."

"I know, that's why I always gel mine." Blaine knew it was tears that Sebastian had tried to brush away, but he wasn't going to bring that up. Sebastian wasn't the type to admit his vulnerability.

"All right then." Sebastian's eyes looked a little red-rimmed, but his voice was steady. "So, clean slate?"

Blaine understood that what Sebastian had to deal with wasn't something that could be resolved overnight. There were still many more dialogues that would have to happen between them before the healing could begin; but starting over was a first step.

"Mmhm. Clean slate it is." Blaine smiled and held out his hand. "Hi, my name is Blaine Anderson. Will you be my boyfriend?"

"Sebastian Smythe." Sebastian's hand felt warm and firm in his. "And absolutely."

Everything was going to be all right, because Blaine planned on being there for Sebastian every step of the way.

(END)


End file.
